Sleator uses Thai customs and traditions to generate the plot of Dangerous Wishes. His presentation of them is matter-of-fact, without being judgmental. The result is not just an exciting adventure but an intimate association with how Thais experience their lives. Dangerous Wishes is the rare novel that manages to take its readers inside a culture and experience it from the inside out; excitement leavened with education make most rewarding reading.

The novel contains implied criticism of some aspects of Thai life. For instance, pollution figures prominently in a few scenes, with a river so polluted that falling into it can bring on severe diseases, and: "They didn't seem at all concerned about the environment here. You could literally see the pollution in the air on the main streets, and a lot of the cops wore masks over their noses and mouths."